Unseen

Stop email tracking in Gmail

Newsletters and sales emails hide invisible images that tell the sender when you open them. Unseen blocks those tracking pixels in Gmail on the web and leaves normal images alone.

• Blocks 330+ known email trackers and hidden pixels
• Shows which company tried to track each email
• Runs only on Gmail, with no access to other websites
• No ads, no analytics, no account. Blocking happens entirely in your browser
• For Chrome, Edge and Firefox

Add to Chrome, free Also for Firefox

Source code · Privacy policy

Is an email tracking you right now? Paste it into the free email tracker checker. It runs in your browser, no install needed.

How email tracking works

A tracked email contains a tiny image, often 1×1 pixel, with an address that is unique to you. When Gmail shows the email, it downloads that image, and the sender's server records that you opened it, when, and how many times. Sales tools such as HubSpot, Mailtrack and Yesware, and newsletter services such as Mailchimp and SendGrid, do this by default. See every tracker Unseen blocks.

Doesn't Gmail already block this?

Not fully. Gmail loads email images through its own proxy, which hides your IP address and rough location from the sender. But the proxy still downloads the image when you open the email, so the sender still learns that you opened it and when. Turning off images in Gmail's settings stops tracking, but it also hides every normal picture. Unseen blocks only the trackers. Can senders see when you open their email? · All the ways to block tracking in Gmail · In italiano · Auf Deutsch · En français · En español · Em português.

How Unseen decides what to block

1. It checks each image's original address against a list of 332 tracking patterns from about 195 companies, built from the open-source Simplify and Trocker lists.
2. It also blocks hidden and 1×1 images, which have no purpose except tracking.
3. Everything else loads as usual. A small note above the email names the tracker, with a Load images anyway button for that one email.

Questions

How is it different from Trocker, PixelBlock or Gblock?

Unseen asks for access to Gmail only, is open source and free for blocking. See an honest comparison, including where the others do better. Moving from Ugly Email, PixelBlock or Gblock?

Can Unseen read my emails?

It looks only at the image addresses inside the emails you open. It never reads, stores or sends the text of your emails, your contacts or your address. The code is open source, so anyone can check.

Does it work with the Gmail app on my phone?

No. Unseen works in Gmail on the web, in a desktop browser.

Does it work in Outlook or Yahoo Mail?

Not yet. Gmail on the web only, for now.

Will senders know I blocked them?

They see the same thing as when someone reads email with images turned off: no open is recorded.

Unseen Pro

Blocking is free and stays free. Unseen Pro adds extra features on top, starting with version 0.2.0:

• Clean tracking links: when you click a link in an email, Unseen opens the real address without the click tracker, when the real address is inside the link. The tracker is never contacted.

Every user gets 30 days of Pro free. After that, Pro is $15 once: no subscription. If you don't buy it, only Pro turns off; blocking keeps working.

Payment, receipts, taxes and refunds are handled by Polar, the merchant of record. If you enter a license key, Unseen checks it with Polar about once a month; nothing else is sent. Questions and support: GitHub issues.